To prevent young children from entering an area such as a swimming pool without supervision, safety enclosures are provided. In some cases, such as for pool fences, they may be required by law. These safety enclosures generally include a self-latching device which is arranged to operate automatically on closing of the gate of the fence and prevents the gate from being reopened without manual release of the mechanism.
One form of such a self-latching device is a magnetic latching device, an example of which is described in WO92/03631.
Moreover, there is a need to provide a self-latching device that is able to remove any false sense of security for the user, i.e. able to warn a user that when the gate visually appears to be closed, but the self-latching device is in its unlatched condition.
In addition, the applicant understands that improvements can still be made in the industry to drive a much safer environment for young children.